Footpaths and verges

Clearing vegetation from footpaths and verges

Trees and flowers are great, but footpaths are for people. Please keep any trees, shrubs and plants on your boundary or overhanging the road clear of the footpath so that pedestrians can use the path safely.

The graphic (to the right) illustrates the area that needs to be maintained.

• The area above the footpath to a height of 2.4m needs to be kept clear of overgrowth from trees, low shrubs, vines and hedges.

Council inspects all footpaths in the city annually checking for overgrowth. Street trees are trimmed as needed and brochures are left with residents where vegetation is encroaching from private property requesting their assistance to keep the footpaths available for all to enjoy.

In extreme cases Council can serve notice on offending property owners or remove the vegetation and recover costs.

Working on footpaths

Information for builders, developers and contractors for keeping public access areas available and safe

Mowing the grass verge outside your property

The grass berms and verges are on Council owned land, however, for many years Council has requested residents mow the grass berms outside their homes and businesses. This helps to engender pride in the appearance of properties and to save everyone money.

• Verges and mowing policy

Planting the verge outside your property to either reduce mowing or for beautification

In some situations Council will allow residents to plant the berm with conditions, including that the resident takes full responsibility for ongoing maintenance and either ensures that subsequent owners take over that responsibility or that the verge is returned to grass when the property is sold.  Written applications to plant berms should be sent to the Transportation Unit.

• Planting verges and reserves

Vehicle crossings

If you have an issue with your vehicle crossing, e.g., it needs repairing, your car scrapes when you go over the crossing or the size or placement of it needs to be adjusted, contact the Transportation Unit for further advise and help.

While Council will maintain a vehicle crossing, any improvements to it are the property owner's responsibility. So that Council can be sure that the crossing is correctly sited and constructed you will need to fill in an application form and pay the required fee. If the widening or relocation is part of a building project then this application may be included in the building application. The forms can be obtained from the Building Enquiries Counter on the Ground Floor. The District Plan has rules governing the location and width of crossings that must be followed. If your proposal falls outside what is permitted by the District Plan you may be able to apply for a Resource Consent for a variation. Contact Planning Guidance Unit for help with this. Once your application is approved you can arrange for a contractor to do the work to Council's standards.

• District Plan
• Planning Guidance Unit
• Development Manual

Contact

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Transportation Unit
Level 5, Council Offices
Garden Place
Hamilton City Council
Private Bag 3010
Hamilton 3240
Phone: 838 6868
Fax: 838 6440

• Email